The Scarlet Ibis
Bell-work: (Frontloading) Relationships can be very complicated. Sometimes your best pal can also be your biggest pain in the neck. Do you have a friend or a sibling like this? Describe this person.
Informational Text Article / Writing Prompt
Page 482: Guide For Reading (Prentice Hall)
1. When was James Hurst born? How old would this make him?
2. Where did Hurst go to college? Name two things that he accomplished after graduating.
3. What year was the story we are reading today published?
Page 483: Literary Focus
4. What is point of view?
5. Describe first person point of view. Provide your own example.
6. Describe third person point of view. Provide your own example.
Page 483: Reading Strategy
7. Describe in your own words what it means to “identify with the character.”
Page 484: The Scarlet Ibis
8. What season is it at the beginning of the story? What imagery does the author use to create the environment? Provide examples.
Page 485
9. Why does the narrator refer to his brother’s birth as a disappointment? Do you believe this is an alright opinion to have about one’s own family member? Explain your answer.
10. Describe how the narrator’s brother earned the nickname “Doodle.”
Page 486
11. Describe why the narrator considered his brother to be a burden.
12. What happens when the narrator shows his brother the coffin he was supposed to be buried in?
Page 488
13. What does Doodle’s brother decide he is going to teach Doodle to do?
Page 489
14. What is the real reason that Doodle’s brother taught him to walk? How does this make you feel about the narrator? Explain.
Page 490:
15. What more do you learn about the narrator through his words and actions toward Doodle?
Page 491:
16. What type of bird does the narrator's family find outside in the yard? Where has this bird come from? How? Explain.
Page 492:
17. What does Doodle do with the ibis?
18. What causes Doodle and the narrator to start running for home after they are out on the boat?
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19. Describe the circumstances leading to Doodle's death.
20. How did the end of the story make you feel? Why?
Exit Slip: How does Doodle disappoint his brother?
Common Assessment: Open Book Quiz
1. What motivates the narrator to teach Doodle to walk?
2. What other plans does he make for Doodle?
Homework: Define the following terms in the glossary in the back of your book. Use each in an original sentence: imminent, iridescent, vortex, infalibility, entrails, precariously, evanesced
Common Core Standards
RL.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning.
W.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.